Latin Root: Credere - To Believe

The Latin root credere, meaning to believe or to trust, yields dozens of English derivatives.

Below you will find a list of the most common English derivatives. Your students will likely know some of them already, while others may be new, even to teachers.

1. credible: able to be believed, trustworthy.

2. incredible: not able to be believed, untrustworthy.

3. credit: those banks trust you will pay them back.

4. credo: literally, I believe. A credo is any creed or formula of belief.

5. creed: a system of belief, or a formal statement of belief.

6. credulous: trusting, willing to believe. Don't be too credulous when politicians make promises.

7. incredulous: not trusting, skeptical.

8. credulity: willingness to believe, especially without strong evidence or proof.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity..."
--Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

9. creditor: a person to whom money is due.

10. credentials: anything that provides the basis for belief, trust, or confidence.

11. credendum: the which must be believed, a doctrine that requires belief or faith.

12. credence: belief or confidence as to the truth of something. The jury gave no credence to the defendant's claims.

13. credal: of or relating to a creed, having to do with a system of belief.


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